These are all elements of a police state, and the systematic mistrust of foreigners in Japan enables the bureaucracy to carry out in microcosm what Submitter PS (a pseudonym) reports below. Fortunately this time, PS had the presence of mind to take photographs of these toughs from Immigration, who clearly felt their need to police gaijin overrode their need to treat people with respect and dignity (not to mention without resorting to physical force and with due process under the law). Arudou Debito

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January 23, 2012 Dear Debito,

My name is PS. I’m a 45-year-old American living and working in Tokyo, where I’ve resided for the last 8 and a half years. I have a valid working visa, pay my Japanese taxes (both national and local), and have never had any unpleasant encounters with the authorities; that is, until last Thursday, Jan. 19. It’s something that I think you should know about.

That morning, an Immigration official showed up at the door of my apartment, unannounced, and demanded to see my passport. I was very suspicious that Immigration (not the police) would make a sudden home visit to do a spot-check, especially since I’ve lived in the same apartment since 2003, and since my address has been registered with the Shinagawa Ward office for over 8 years. Anyway, I asked this gentleman to show me his badge so that I could write down his name and badge number. He quickly flashed me some ID, but I pointed out that I didn’t have the opportunity to see, much less write down, the details. In a belligerent tone, he said in English, “Passport first!” I refused, bid him a good day, and started to close my door. It was at this point that things got out of hand.

The aforementioned gentleman physically blocked my door from closing, and we got into a shoving match that led to my door getting knocked off its tracks. Then, suddenly, four of his associates (2 men and 2 women), who’d apparently been hiding in the stairwell, appeared en masse. Things continued to verbally escalate, though with no further physicality, until one of them finally relented and let me take a photo of his badge. I took the further liberty of photographing the three “men” who were harassing me. The photos are attached. The person wearing the surgical mask in Photos #2 and 3 is the one with whom I tussled. The name stitched on his uniform was “S. Maeda.”

(NB from Debito: This crappy rubber-stamped and handwritten note passes for GOJ ID??)

After I was satisfied that these people were who they claimed to be, I retrieved my alien registration card, which I presented to them. One of these individuals tried to take it from me, but I made it quite clear that the card wasn’t leaving my hand. My name and number were written down, and these people finally took their leave. I will admit to getting very upset and giving them quite the tongue-lashing as they were walking away. I couldn’t help but point out the infringements on my human rights, not to mention the ridiculous waste of manpower – 5 officials to harass one law-abiding “gaijin” who pays their salaries through his tax payments.

After they left, I called my landlady, who rang Immigration on my behalf. The official she spoke said to confirmed that it was indeed their staff who paid me a visit, though the reason was not forthcoming. After I got to work, I rang the U.S. Embassy to report the matter and told my employer as well. My deep concern was that I might “disappear” and wind up in some windowless dungeon, so I wanted to be sure I had some lifelines established.

This experience has left me terribly shaken and deeply resentful. Given my long tenure in Japan, I was aware that the police on occasion took certain liberties that would not be tolerated in most Western countries (e.g. no Habeas Corpus statute, leading to lengthy incarcerations without charges being filed). However, I had no idea that I was living in a virtual police state in which my home could be practically invaded without cause, and I could be harassed by what struck me as a pack of Gestapo agents, the presence of the two women notwithstanding.

Thanks to the excellent resources available on your website, I was able to do some research. As far as I can tell, what Immigration did to me was not legal. I know that the Foreign Registry Law, Section 13, compels me to present my alien registration card to a Ministry of Justice official if he/she asks for it. But can such a person just show up at my doorstep out of the blue and make me produce said ID? The people at issue in my case had no just cause to suspect me and produced no warrant, without which I can’t see how they could justify blocking my door and getting physical with me.

I know you get a lot of e-mail, so I won’t go on any further. However, if you can shed any light on what happened to me (and perhaps spread the word), I’d be very grateful. As I said, this is the first incident of its kind I’ve ever heard of taking place in this country. Thanks for your time in reading this long e-mail.

Best regards, PS

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FOLLOW-UP FROM PS:

Yes, by all means, please post my story (with the photos) at your website. It’s fine to use my initials: “P.S.”

By the way, the American Embassy also got back to me. They were not much help, just referring me to a link where I could find a lawyer. In closing, they gently reminded me that, as a foreigner, I was obliged to obey the laws of the country in which I reside, even if they are very different from those of the U.S. That’s not a point I was disputing, so I wonder if they read my e-mail carefully.

ENDS

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FINAL COMMENT FROM DEBITO: Ironic how the USG expects their citizens to obey the laws of the land when even Japanese law enforcement won’t. Would be nice if the USG et.al would at least make their citizens less disenfranchised by giving them an avenue for channeling complaints of this nature.

Comment navigation

Whether they were genuine police officers or scam artists, this kind of behaviour is deplorable. I’ve lived in Japan for over twenty years with a break in the middle, and to be fair, have never experienced anything quite this traumatic. I remember once complaining to my young, single neighbour who was a noisy inconsiderate man-child when his music or TV had yet again disturbed my sleep. I was drunk at the time of the confrontation and I scared the living crap out of him apparently since next day there was a cop on my doorstep. He took my details, and asked to see my Alien Card, but he was polite about it. On the same morning I had NHK and a Jehovah’s Witless visit me. I gave both of them similar suggestions that got rid of them pretty sharp.

I’ve been a keen reader and periodic contributer to this excellent website for the past year of so. I can’t help but see a trend here. Perhaps it was the earthquake last year, but since then I can’t shake the feeling that Japan is becoming a less and less welcoming place, either that or my rose-tinted goggles just fell off and it was all along. Japan has been my adopted home for nearly half my life, but I shall be leaving at the end of July and am quite certain I shall never return except for perhaps some very irregular visits as a tourist. It’s sad. For a long while I deluded myself that we can integrate here and be accepted. I fear that is almost impossible for most of us. It may be different outside the big cities as one contributor above mentioned.

Good luck to those of you who stay and fight. For me, it simply isn’t worth it anymore.

Massimo Says:
January 27th, 2012 at 10:25 am
“I have the feeling that it could have happened because of some ‘good citizen’ giving a call to immigration and telling them that they better check out for a suspicious gaijin….”

Immigration officials rotate through various jobs. When working in an immigration office they would wear a suit and tie but when out raiding law-abiding visitors they wear frumpy clothes. Immigration does raid people’s homes anywhere in the country. The ID looks pretty suspicious though.

PS HERE. I’m the guy whose account has spurred such an overwhelming response. I want to sincerely thank everyone for their input and support. The suggestions that the “gang of 5” may not have been genuine Immigration officials got me thinking. It turns out that another American guy living on the ground floor of my building was not approached by these people on Jan. 19. My apt. is upstairs on the second floor (or first floor to those from the UK and Commonwealth) and at the end of the hallway to boot! I’ve had no unpleasant run-ins with any residents of my neighborhood and haven’t had any visitors in many months. (My place is small and cramped; not an ideal location to entertain friends).

So, this past Friday, I sent an e-mail, including the pictures, to the Immigration folks to find out if the people I photographed actually worked for them. I kept the message very matter-of-fact and made no complaints, aside from stating my concern that they did not, in fact, represent the Japan Bureau of Immigration. When (or if) they respond to me, I’ll post their answer here.

About the U.S. Embassy’s response, I was actually not surprised at their lack of willingness to do anything. My country is unfortunately not the place it was at its founding, and its government now seeks only to protect American trade and military interests abroad. American citizens living overseas are an afterthought to them, at best, and an annoyance, at worst.

By the way, I checked out the “Japan Immigration Raid” video at YouTube. I didn’t notice any physical similarities between the thugs it showed to the ones who confronted me. Still, the fact that those people in the vid. traveled in packs and wore plain clothes during their raids strongly hearkened back to my own experience.

Once again – thank you, Debito, and everyone who has contributed their two cents’ worth. I’ll be sure to post updates as they happen.

PS, one question: did they specifically ask for you, by name, when they knocked on the door? It’s not clear from the account above if they just knocked on your door, saw your foreign face, and demanded your passport (which is what the title “door-to-door checks” implies), or if they went to your address specifically to find you, which is more like a kind of raid or stakeout.

Did they ask for “Mr. PS” and then start the questioning when you confirmed that you were indeed PS?

I think that they should offer this person an immediate apology since they just casually violated his human rights. I would like to know if for example this same thing happened to me or someone I know then what action can be taken, such as filing a complaint or who is accountable? And who oversees these people that came to his door and pushed him?

The problem with the staff at the embassy is that they rotate in and out, and some are here because of their fascination with Japan. It was always my impression that the Japanese run the place anyway, so when the diplomat ask the Japanese senior individual on how to handle it, of course their response would not always be the most appropriate for the situation as manipulation or influence might be involved. Just my observation. The response this individual got is to be expected, its a shame when things have come to this but actually its the norm now. Ive always said that if I got injured in front of the embassy by a yakuza or right winger type, they would be like *did you hear about that guy in front of the gate* Thanks to Debito san for a forum so that we all can post stuff like this here.

Answer to “Mark in Yayoi” – No, I did not hear these people use my name at any time. On my floor, there are four small apartments, three of which are currently unoccupied. However, that morning, I was listening to an English-language talk show that I had recorded the previous day. Given the very shoddy construction of my apt. building, it could easily have been heard from the outside. As a side note, the volume at which I was playing the recording was not excessive, IMHO, so I doubt it prompted any complaints from neighboring houses.

@Jim;
‘I think that they should offer this person an immediate apology since they just casually violated his human rights.’
Calm down Jim. Before everyone gets all outraged, haven’t we learnt ANYTHING from the whole CJ saga? Let’s apply some critical thinking and ask for more information before we go in all guns blazing against officialdom.
We don’t know the full details. Mark in Yayoi (54) raises an important point as to whether PS was asked for by name when he opened the door.
Surely this incident raises the fact that there is a need for immigration to publicize and inform (just like the J-police) as to what exactly official ID looks like in order to remove the fear of being scammed.
Also, any legal experts here? My wife’s J-cop friend says that if you are in doubt as to the identity of any visitor asking for access, you should explain that you are refusing on the basis of that doubt, and will phone the police (N.B. CJ! J-police ARE #110, surely you know that having been here so long?) Any genuine visitor should have no problem waiting for the police to come and clear things up, and the J-Police won’t be put out (any more than usual) at having to come over.

PS, as soon as you said “Shinagawa ward” I knew it was the same place I used to live at, though quite a few years ago. The picture of the door confirms it. The shinagawa police have always targetted it as its an easy mark-a gaijin house-with easy access. I have mentioned it on a different thread before.I used to just stay in bed and go back to sleep rather than answer; I knew it was them as I could hear them then moving to the next apartment to “check who is living here”.

During the G7 meeting in hokkaido (2007), they also had a deputized nosy ojisan at every corner, eyeing up the gaijin.

It was so paranoid inducing though, and I soon moved the hell out of Tokyo. No longer worth the hassle.

Wow, it is almost like you live in Arizona. I personally have had only one almost uncomfortable spot in my 10 years here, when a rather zealous policeman kept insisting that I speak English to him as he checked out my ARC.(He got angry when I spoke Japanese) I honestly don’t know how I would handle the attitudes of the 5 that showed at your door, but you did a great job keeping your cool. From now on the chain is staying on my door if I don’t recognize the people on the other side. I personally would have called the police during or immediately after. Please keep us informed and I hope you can let it not bother you too much. Strange to think that I am actually wishing that it was a group of criminals rather than government agents, but I am…at least with criminals you have no expectations…

Lots of well-wishers recommending a call to the police. My opinion differs. The police will instantly back off with a word from the immigration thugs. “We’re on a officially-sanctioned illegal immigrant check.”

Game over with the J-cops. The only person you should be calling is your lawyer. And even then, the lawyer should already be at your flat, otherwise he will be to late for the party.

The best solution is from Flyjin who recommends you don’t answer your door for anyone (unless it’s the deliveryman.) Let them bust the door down if they feel it’s important enough. It most definitely won’t be.

Sorry for the slightly off topic, but for some reason there are certain types of petty dickery that irritate me enough that I feel the need to comment even when I know it’s probably unproductive.

>(N.B. CJ! J-police ARE #110, surely you know that having been here so long?)
I had been in Japan for seven or eight years when someone broke into my apartment. I called the fire department, dialing 119. They told me to call the police by dialing 110. So, yeah, it’s not something that everyone has completely memorized.

@PS – Your post #57 and the responses following it now have me thinking that this wasn’t a case of immigration inspectors checking on you specifically, or a response to a “snitch site” request. Now I’m thinking that they were just looking for any foreigners they could find; more along the lines of the “door-to-door” in the title.

I was a little suspicious when your landlady called Immigration, confirmed that the inspectors were indeed at the house, and then (seemingly) did nothing in protest. Does she actually own the building, or does she just manage it? I ask because to get to your apartment, they had to enter her property! What property owner gets a report of anyone coming onto private property, that they own, uninvited and unannounced, then harassing her tenants and using physical force, and then just shrugs it off?

But if you live in a so-called “gaijin house”, the landlady or manager might be aware of these visits. A little Googling brought up this Debito.org story from a few years ago:

…where immigration inspectors (presumably — they didn’t identify themselves) waited outside a well-known gaijin house for residents to pass by, then caught one and demanded her papers. A complaint to the building manager resulted in basically nil.

If it’s not too private, could you tell us if you live in a “gaijin house”? And if so, what spaces are public and what are private? (And of the private space, what’s exclusively residents, such as common areas, and what’s specifically for each renter?) In my apartment, for example, there are four levels of privacy: (1) the land the building occupies, (2) the building lobby, (3) the residential part of the building, which requires a door lock code, and (4) each person’s apartment. The residents’ board, of which I’m a member, would have a fit if someone forced their way into (3) and definitely (4). Visitors have to wait in the lobby until the resident comes down, and even then there’s an inside waiting room where you can meet with such visitors.

Basically I want to know if these inspectors trespassed onto anyone’s private property, and if so, whose. I suspect that their entry onto your landlord’s property was questionable — unless, of course, the landlord is aware of and accepts these visits.

@Crustpunker. Good question about the exact time these thugs came by my place on Jan. 19! I wasn’t looking at my watch, but it was between 9:15 and 9:30 a.m. During the melee, I rang my landlady, as I’ve mentioned, and the time stamp on my mobile phone record of the call is 9:32 a.m. I was dressed for work and about to leave.

Quick postscript to my last comment (#63). When I first called my landlady at 9:32 a.m., she didn’t answer her phone, so I couldn’t get her to talk to my “friendly” visitors. However, I did get through to her later in the morning after I’d arrived at work.

And, yes, I should have called the police. My reasoning for not doing so was that my Japanese ability was poor, and I doubted that I could get my point across. My adrenaline was also pumping like crazy, so it was hard for my logical mind to sort out the wisest course of action.

Two lessons I’ve learned – don’t answer my door unless I’m positive of the identity of the person on the other side, and learn the proper Japanese expressions for describing a situation in progress to the cops.

Yep. 61. As a rule, wherever I live, I never answer the door. All friends and family know your telephone number so would never turn up unannounced. If the postman needs to deliver a large packet, you are either expecting it or he will leave a card telling you to get in touch.

Last year, my doorbell was rang constantly in the early mornings and in the evenings. Not once did I answer and not once did anyone leave a note. It became a battle of wills. My hunch was that it was the local bicycle police or some neighbourhood watch organisation who perhaps checked my mountain bike and discovered it was registered in Fukushima. Eventually after 2 months, whoever it was who felt it important enough to come visiting in the early mornings and evenings (without leaving any note or card), gave up. No idea who it was, but I suspect I saved myself having to tangle with some needless jobs-worth who was out to make my life a bit harder. I also feel somewhat smug that I won the Battle of the Doorbell (although duct tape was used on my intercom to muffle the sound).

It was actually harder to make it into work on time after a couple of months as I never got my 6am doorbell call. The rule is simple – if you don’t recognise who is calling your phone, don’t answer. If you don’t recognise a 6am visitor to your apartment, stay in bed.

Sounds like the KGB coming round in the middle of the night! Or in mainland China, where residents are told to vacate their apartments if they are near an official drive by. Even if you own the apartment, you cant stay there.

“PS, as soon as you said “Shinagawa ward” I knew it was the same place I used to live at, though quite a few years ago. The picture of the door confirms it. The Shinagawa police have always targeted it as its an easy mark – a gaijin house-with easy access. I have mentioned it on a different thread before. I used to just stay in bed and go back to sleep rather than answer; I knew it was them as I could hear them then moving to the next apartment to “check who is living here”.”http://www.debito.org/?p=9900#comment-308706

It wasn’t about PS. It wasn’t a hotline call. It was random checking of an apartment known to have a high rate of foreigners living there. Just going from door to door, fishing for overstayers, nothing personal. If you open your door to strangers, it suddenly pecomes possible for that stranger to keep the door open and to walk in to your entrance and there is nothing you will be able to do about it at that point. Try pushing the immigration officer or police officer strongly in an attempt to push them back out the door and you will end up serving time for assault. Once you have opened the door enough for them to get their foot in the door, your ability to stop their entry into your home has ceased. You opened your door, so now they are in. If the police officer then says, “I smell a strange smell…” then suddenly they have probable cause to search your home completely, room to room, thoroughly. So since opening your door gives authorities-who-know-that-strange-smell-technique the legal right to enter and search your home, why would you ever open your door to strangers?

The preventative solution to this problem is simple, as posted perfectly in comment #41:

As the Mainland Chinese Communist, sorry, Japanese police/immigration etc do not follow or recognize privacy laws etc with an easy to enter, no doubt rickety wooden gaijin house, the correct postmodern response is to in turn reciprocate and ignore the doorbell.

It has been overused, your privacy breached, and it is another sign or symbol has lost its meaning. Therefore turn it off or just ignore the pounding of the door by staying in bed (these checkers always seem to come around quite early in the morning, probably to catch people before they go to work).

As useful Japanese phrase-which I learnt from a comedy show in fact- is “ima te o hansenai”, loosely translated as “I cannot reach (the door) now, because I am in a state of undress, etc.”

If the police insist and threaten to break in the door, rip off all your clothes, or even get into the shower. It might be absurd-yet appropriate enough- to get them to leave.

The Havel-like Theatre of the Absurd that is postmodern Japan makes actors of us all. Never a dull moment.

Cheers for the heads up, PS. Your experience angers me but also is a wake up call. I will now adopt a policy of “Stranger Danger”: NEVER, EVER open the door to strangers. I’ve only previously been paranoid of the NHK guy, and annoyed with the Christian cults paying a door-knock – this is now further reason to keep the door shut.

BTW – that ID is the shabbiest thing I have ever seen. When I was in High School we used to make more professional school bus-pass ID forgeries than that! And the “officials” look as dodgy as hell – including the woman.

Thanks, NCL, for the English language contact number for the police. That’s going into my speed dial right after I send this post.

An update – I managed to corner my landlady last night for a more substantive chat. I showed her the photos I took and asked if she was certain that it was indeed the Immigration folks who paid me a visit. She assured me they were the genuine article, despite the shabby ID and clothing. The person to whom she spoke at the Imm. Bureau mentioned that a random “sweep” was being done in the area, including my house. For any World War II buffs, does the word “Razzia” strike a chord? Those were the raids carried out by the Nazis in an effort to cull Jews and other “undesirables” from the civilian population. Some may say that’s taking the comparison too far, but that sort of profiling and discriminatory behavior is what ultimately leads to the atrocities that most of us have only read about in history books.

Regarding the property issue brought up by Mark in Yayoi, I suppose you could say I live in a “gaijin house,” though I have my own kitchen. (Sorry – I hate that phrase). My landlady lives in a more durable structure just in front of my building. The key point is that the 5 thugs most definitely had to trespass on the owner’s property to pay me a visit. (Note: the landlady is not the owner, whom I’ve never met).

I made a point of emphasizing the property violation issue to my landlady, but she just shrugged her shoulders and said “Shoganai. They were just doing their job.” Long story short – she was no help at all, aside from confirming the identity of the “gang of 5.”

I’ve still received no reply from the Immigration office, and I doubt I ever will. However, if they surprise me and respond to my e-mail, I’ll post their remarks here. Thanks again everyone!

I’ve never used the Tokyo police number for speakers of other languages, but their service is via 03-3503-8484. It’s only Monday-Friday 8:30-5:15, so not really an emergency number. No service at the weekends or during holidays. Languages are English and Chinese, with reservations for other languages required (Korean, Thai, Tagalog, Spanish, Farsi, German, Urdu and Russian).

This is weird. I can’t see new posts on debito’s FB. From my view his wall hasn’t had anything posted on it for 24 hours. It has just frozen.

— Sorry, I don’t do Debito.org daily (I”m on an Internet diet, new posts every three days), so sometimes it will take me time to approve comments. I appreciate everyone’s feedback and discussion, so please be patient.

I wanted to say I hope you don’t give this up, for your sake and for people’s sake here. If you give it up, then you may start resenting Japan and a feeling of powerlessness can come over you, which never feels good. (For those of us who have lived in Japan when our Japanese wasn’t good, we have all experienced this). If your Japanese is not good enough to talk to immigration yourself, find a Japanese friend/boss who is willing to help you. You won’t be able to change the system, but you’ll be able to have asked for an answer from the authority, and been able to hear there explanation (and even perhaps make a complaint about how it made you feel).

If you do this, Debito can put it on his site, and other people will know how to act if a similar situation happens to them. That’s the point I believe here, to help people know what to do in unfortunate situations.

There may be some debate about this, but I suggest if it happens to anyone, to complain/ask for verification in a polite manner. When one feels their rights are being infringed, this isn’t a natural response, but I believe that it is better for everyone involved. Also, if your Japanese isn’t good enough to speak to them with confidence, the next best thing is to learn a few set phrases while dealing with authorities. My Japanese isn’t good enough to give your good phrases (bad grammar have I), but I’m sure you can find help in that regard.

To stress the point, it’s most important to not feel defeated, and be proactive outside comfortable avenues.

I talked to an immigration lawyer about this today. He said
(1) They must hold their ID out for you to carefully check, write down info, etc. If they just yank it away it does not constitute having shown proper ID.
(2) They are not allowed in the apartment without a warrant. The lawyer seemed to think that their jamming their foot in the door exceeded their authority.
Although the talk was brief I didn’t get clarification on whether a house resident is required to show ID after opening the door to immigration or the police, this lawyer agreed that closing the door while telling them you’re calling the police and they can talk to you after the police arrive would be an entirely acceptable thing to do.
If you have the time I recommend filing a complaint for unlawful entering of your home by people without a warrant.

Thank you both for your input. Special thanks to James for getting some clarification from an actual lawyer. While I see the merits in pressing this matter, I’ve no doubt that I will encounter brick walls at every turn. Also, there are issues at Debito’s site of much greater import than mine. After all, I wasn’t jailed, beat up, or killed. (Knock on wood). At this point, my feeling is that there is no way I can make Japan my permanent home, no matter how unpleasant economic conditions are back home. I was toying with the idea of staying here permanently, but that’s out the window now. Clearly, I will never have a place in Japan, and, as a NJ, I’m extremely vulnerable to the whims and caprices of national and local authorities, who seem virtually unsanctioned when they violate our rights. I wish I could say that I’m going to fight the good fight, but it’s just not a priority for me. Now, I’m just going to direct my energies to settling myself in another country. That said, I will always put forward to others the reality of what NJ have to suffer in this country. So many people in the West see Japan through rose-colored glasses, and I don’t intend to perpetuate any myths that surround it. In any case, Japan had better wake up; it needs the outside world desperately. This is not the 1980’s when this country was such an economic powerhouse and could get away with murder. There’s a new sheriff in town (i.e. China), and it’s not a reality that the more pigheaded denizens of this land can escape forever.

I disagree that there are matters on Debito of greater import than yours. Warrantless home invasions are psychologically damaging: you can’t feel safe in your own home from harassment from the authorities. This cascades into your desire to leave Japan, your unhappiness and stories that prevent others from coming to work in Japan, limiting Japan’s economic opportunities. The kind of behavior by officials going unquestioned also makes Japanese people comfortable that you are an other and not one of them, and may contribute to for example youths thinking that they can beat a Nepalese man to death and that would be acceptable. The nefarious impact of this kind of behavior by officers of the law is significant for its direct effects but also follow-on consequences.

Please do not allow this to deter your residence in Japan; if you do, they will have succeeded in their attempt to deperson you. You will feel better if you write your thoughts out and communicate it to the powers that be in a way that makes clear you are a victim of harassment, have been psychologically traumatized, and your legal right to freedom from warrantless home invasion under Article 35 of the Japanese constitution was violated (may be a reason why the Japanese lawyer above thought they overstepped):
“The right of all persons to be secure in their homes, papers and effects against entries, searches and seizures shall not be impaired except upon warrant issued for adequate cause and particularly describing the place to be searched and things to be seized, or except as provided by Article 33.
2) Each search or seizure shall be made upon separate warrant issued by a competent judicial officer.”
Article 17:
“Every person may sue for redress as provided by law from the State or a public entity, in case he has suffered damage through illegal act of any public official.”

Write your thoughts and feelings, have them closely edited, and send them to each Japanese government bureau and public organization relevant to the subject. They have comment receipt services, and they do at least read them. You can send it to the immigration bureau, send it to the Japanese federation of bar associations, send it to a Japanese human rights free legal services organization or lawyer who is inclined to participate in such matters, add a dose of economic impact and send it to METI, etc. At the very least, you will have made government functionaries consider the impact their gross human rights violations are having both on you and their attempts to integrate a foreign worker population to stymie economic decline.

For me personally I would probably have not answered the door (I’m female and several NJ friends report stalking, even Japanese men coming to their doors), but PS’s experience sure is a traumatic one, and I can only imagine. I wonder, did they do this to women too, showing up suddenly at their homes and barging in??

(Maybe the two females were present as a legal buffer in case any NJ females claimed their sudden invasion of privacy resulted in sexual assault or something.)

Funny how I left Yokohama in 2009 after a long stay due to everything I had to endure as a gaijin with a kid and three years later, my current company offers me a posting in Japan so I checked out this website to see if things have gotten better in Japan for foreigners and sad to say, it looks like they have gotten worse.